Jaguars Knock Colts Out of Playoff Contention For Second Consecutive Year

For the second year in a row, the Jacksonville Jaguars have delivered the knockout punch to the Indianapolis Colts. This time, though, it came by beating the New York Jets.

Thanks to the Jaguars' win over the Jets improving Jacksonville's record to 7-8, effectively making it impossible for the Colts to match them in the AFC South.

It isn't quite as emotional as the Jaguars personally ending the Colts' playoff bid like they did in a Week 18 upset at TIAA Bank Field last season, but the Jaguars managed to pull away from the Colts over the last month after the two spent most of the season jockeying for second-place in the AFC South behind the Tennessee Titans.

Now it is the Jaguars who are pushing for a playoff spot and a shot at the AFC South crown after winning three games in a row, while the Colts are entering the final two weeks of a failed experiment with Jeff Saturday as head coach.

"I’m proud of the guys. We set out two and half weeks ago, we had three games in less than three weeks, and we just had to take them one at a time," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said after Thursday's 19-3 win over the Jets.

"I think that’s what you’ve seen from this group. There’s no quit in them. They stick together. They hang together. They encourage one another. That’s what it takes. That’s a good football team over there on defense and hats off to Coach Saleh and the group that he has. I’m proud of our guys.

For the Jaguars, it was their third win in the last 12 days, matching the three wins they had in 18 weeks a year ago.

"I think it’s a start. It’s a mark of a team that’s beginning to play good football, meaningful football at the end of the season," Pederson said.

"We’ve talked about that a lot, having meaningful games down the stretch. These guys are battling through a lot. They’re battling through their own injuries. You lose Cam Robinson a week ago and Walker (Little) played his tail off today. My hats off to those guys. It’s just a sign of our team coming together at the right time."

Add us as a preferred source on Google